Departmental Staff

Bob Spink: To ask the Prime Minister how many disciplinary actions against civil servants employed in his Office (a) were commenced and (b) resulted in a sanction being applied in each of the last five years.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Jim Murphy) today.

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Robert Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed closure of the Banchory station of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology on climate change research in Scotland.

David Cairns: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Competitiveness, Department for Trade and Industry, to the hon. Member for East Surrey on 10 January 2006, Official Report, column 471W.
	I am sure that the Natural Environment Research Council will consider all evidence and views on the potential impact of the proposed re-structuring of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, including the proposed closure of the site at Banchory.

Legal Advice

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will take steps to make it easier for the public to seek redress against lawyers for poor legal advice.

Bridget Prentice: I share my hon. Friend's concern hat people must be able to seek redress against lawyers where appropriate. In our White Paper "The Future of Legal Services: Putting Consumers First" we set out proposals for an independent Office for Legal Complaints. This will be a direct point for all complaints about providers of legal services. Where things go wrong, it will provide full, fair and swift redress to the consumer.

Electoral Registration

Jessica Morden: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what her estimate is of the number of 18 to 24-year-olds who are not on the latest electoral register.

Harriet Harman: The Electoral Commission's "Understanding Electoral Registration" report provides a comprehensive analysis of registration rates and a detailed analysis of non-registration by age group. The report estimates that on 15 October 2000—the date on which the report's analysis is based—the levels of non-registration among all eligible 18 to 24-year-olds in England and Wales was 16 per cent.

National Mediation Helpline

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many people are employed at the National Mediation
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Bridget Prentice: The Department has funded one full-time operator to work on the National Mediation Helpline for a year. Up to three other trained operators are available, on a part-time basis, to handle calls at peak times.

Judicial Appointments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when the Secretary of State last met the Chairperson of the Judicial Appointments Commission to discuss judicial appointments; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and the Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission last met to discuss judicial appointments on 17 January 2006.
	Regarding a statement, I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made yesterday by my right hon. Friend, Harriet Harman. The Chairperson of the Judicial Appointments Commission and the Lord Chief Justice have both agreed this statement.

Legal Aid

Jim Cousins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will estimate the effect on legal aid costs of the Government's respect agenda.

Bridget Prentice: The legal Aid implications of all new Government policy initiatives are assessed as part of the regulatory impact assessment process. This will apply to the range of policy initiatives departments will be ringing forward as part of the respect agenda.

Biodiversity Action Plan

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) was published in 1994 as part of the UK response to the Convention on Biological Diversity signed in Rio in 1992. Under the plan there are costed and targeted national action plans for 436 of our most threatened habitats and species in the UK. These are supported by approximately 150 local biodiversity action plans, often at county level.
	Progress on the UK BAP is reviewed every three years. Results from the most recently completed reporting round were published in "UK Biodiversity Action Plan—tracking progress" in 2003.
	By the end of 2002, 26 per cent. of BAP species were either stable or increasing, and the rate of decline had slowed for a further 8 per cent. of species. 26 per cent. of habitats were either stable or increasing and the rate of those in decline had slowed by 31 per cent.
	Information for 2005 is currently being collated. This will address not only on how individual species and habitats are faring, but also emerging influences by sector and constraints to delivery. A report will be published in 2006. Notable successes of the UK BAP so far include genuine results for species like the corncrake, bittern, cirl bunting, field cricket, lady's slipper orchid and otters, and for habitats including cereal field margins and native pinewoods.
	In addition, the UK Biodiversity Partnership is currently undertaking a review of the targets set for UK priority species and habitats and a review of the UK priority lists themselves. We will publish new priorities, targets and plans for meeting our target of halting biodiversity loss by 2010, once these reviews have been completed.

Environmental Research Projects

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding the Government has provided in 2005–06 for environmental research projects.

Elliot Morley: Government spending on research into environmental matters comes from a range of sources. The Department's research budget is allocated to specific Directorate Generals, and within each budget there will be specific projects addressing questions about the environment. The allocated research spend for 2005–06 for the Department, by Directorate General, is as follows:
	
		
			 Directorate general £000 
		
		
			 Environment Protection 55,787 
			 Science Economics and Statistics 9,659 
			 Natural Resources and Rural Affairs 8,306 
			 Sustainable Food, Farming and Fisheries 44,258 
			 Animal Health and Welfare 38,831 
		
	
	In addition, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is responsible for supporting basic, strategic and applied environmental research and related postgraduate training in the UK. The Department for Trade and Industry has allocated some £371 million to NERC for expenditure in 2005–06.
	Finally, the Department for Trade and Industry also contributes funding directly to research with environmental objectives. Over the three years 2004–05 to 2006–07 £370 million is available for Collaborative Research and Development through the Department for Trade and Industry Technology Programme. Of this, £50 million—derived from the Department's BREW (Business Resource Efficiency and Waste) programme—is explicitly focused on resource efficiency and waste technologies.
	In the 2005–06 period, DTI has committed £30 million to projects which will cover clean production, waste minimisation, design and manufacture of sustainable products and contaminated land assessment and remediation, and has also allocated £20 million to low carbon energy technologies.
	DTI also provided funding for Grants for Research and Development, delivered through the Regional Development Agencies in the period 2005–06, which includes enabling environmental industries to successfully investigate environmental technologies, although it is not currently possible to separate out this expenditure.

Red Kite/Great Bustard

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on the reintroduction of (a) the Red Kite and (b) the Great Bustard; and what the Government's contribution to these projects has been to date.

Jim Knight: The Red Kite Reproduction Programme has involved the release of 292 young red kites in four separate areas of England between 1989 and 2005. It has been a great success with breeding populations now well established in three different areas; in 2005 an estimated 385 pairs were breeding in these areas. Similar work has been carried out in Scotland as part of the same programme and breeding populations have now been established at three Scottish sites; in 2005 there were an estimated 75 breeding pairs.
	English Nature and RSPB coordinate work on the Reproduction Programme in England, working with a range of different partners in each of the release areas. Much of the funding is provided by external partners and sources such as the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Landfill Tax Credits Scheme. English Nature has contributed approximately £20,000 per year to the programme, as well as providing considerable staff time for those involved in the work. Gateshead council has committed £250,000 over five years for the Northern Kites project. And the Forestry Commission is a key partner in two of the projects in England, providing staff time for educational work and for monitoring birds.
	The Great Bustard Reproduction Project has involved the release of 54 birds on Salisbury Plain since 2004. Of these, 27 were known to be surviving in the wild as of October last year. The fate of a further three birds was unknown (although they were assumed to be alive and living wild).
	The Great Bustard Project is run by a private consortium made up of a group of dedicated enthusiasts and the University of Stirling. The Department contributed an initial £10,000, but the rest of the funding is provided by private sponsorship and from the "Sustain The Plain" LEADER+ project.

Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of  Chemicals Directive

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the change in the number of animals across the EU each year which will be required for animal testing when the Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Directive comes into force; and what steps have been taken to reduce the numbers of animals required for testing via (a) alternative methods of testing and (b) data sharing.

Elliot Morley: There have been no estimates made of the number of animals required for testing per year across the EU when the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation comes into force, not least since it is not possible to predict in advance the precise timing of any testing carried out by or for registrants. The total number of additional test animals needed as a consequence of the introduction of the regulation has been estimated by the Commission at £3.9 million based on the Commission's original proposal. The text of the Political Agreement of December 2005 goes further still in minimising the amount of animal testing required, for example through the incorporation of "One Substance, One Regulation" (OSOR), a UK proposal with strong rules on the mandatory sharing of animal test data by companies.
	The Commission's interim strategy during the implementation stages of REACH will focus on developing guidance, through REACH Implementation Projects (RIPs), on information requirements on intrinsic properties of substances, aiming in particular at developing integrated testing strategies based on alternative methods of testing which will allow the minimum use of test animals. The RIPs are supported by the UK in providing expertise to the RIP project teams and by funding specific research into developing alternative methods.

Snares

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what testing of snares for catching wildlife her Department is carrying out; and what trials are planned.

Jim Knight: A new snares code of practice was launched on 19 October, with a strong emphasis on animal welfare when people are considering their use.
	The new code is an important step forward in improving the use of snares. It provides important guidance to ensure that snares are only used where necessary, and that welfare considerations are properly weighed against the benefits of snaring.
	In addition, Defra is continuing its work to develop increasingly humane and non-lethal methods of pest control, and considering research to assess snares against the standards set out in the proposed Humane Trapping Standards Directive.
	Defra's only current testing or research into snares for catching wildlife is research into restraining badgers using body snares. The aim of this is to inform a decision on culling methods that would be both effective and humane if we were to decide that culling of badgers was needed. No decisions on whether or not to cull badgers will be made until after the consultation on "Controlling the spread of bovine tuberculosis in cattle in high incidence areas in England: badger culling" closes on 10 March 2006. Further details can be found at: http://www.defra.gov.ukcorporate/consult/badgers-tbcontrols/index.htm

Waste Heat (Capture)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to encourage the capture of waste heat to be fed into district heating systems; what percentage of such heat was captured in this way in the last period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 23 January 2006
	Defra's key support for district heating is through the Community Energy programme, which has encouraged and supported innovative schemes. This includes four schemes that will capture an estimated 20,000 megawatt hours of waste heat per annum. This cannot be expressed in percentage terms as we do not collect figures on the total amount of heat wasted. The Carbon Trust has launched Project Bolt to examine the potential for the commercialisation of projects linking providers and purchasers of waste heat.

Departmental Expenditure

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been spent in each year since 1997 by his Department on salaries paid to civil servants.

Gareth Thomas: Prior to 2005, DFID outsourced its payroll function to the Pay and Personnel Agency, part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD). We do not therefore readily hold information down to the level requested and to give the figures for spend on salaries as requested would therefore incur disproportionate costs.
	We do hold information from 1999 onwards on "Staff Costs" which we report against in our resource accounts. These costs include salary and allowances paid to civil servants, contract staff and staff employed overseas:
	
		
			  Staff costs (excluding social security costs) (£000) Percentage of total budget 
		
		
			 1999–2000 35,440 1.60 
			 2000–01 37,452 1.48 
			 2001–02 38,649 1.57 
			 2002–03 51,896 1.86 
			 2003–04(1) 70,440 2.45 
			 2004–05(1) 79,643 2.44 
		
	
	(1) Excludes other pension costs

Pension Costs

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of pension contributions incurred by (a) his Department and (b) each (i) non-departmental public body, (ii) Executive agency and (iii) other public body for which he is responsible in (A) Scotland, (B) Wales, (C) each of the English regions and (D) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06.

Gareth Thomas: The cost of pension contributions incurred by the Department for International Development is as follows:
	
		
			£ 
			 Financial year Total employers contributions (ASLCs) paid to the PCSPS (Classic, Classic plus, Premium) Total employers partnership contributions paid to the partnership providers (Scottish Widows, Standard Life, TUC) Employers contributions to the PCSPS to cover death in service and ill health benefits of partnership optants (0.8 per cent.) 
		
		
			 2002–03 6,803,325.89 (2)0 (2)0 
			 2003–04 7,673,693.84 33,332.12 2,099.49 
			 2004–05 8,506,262.87 117,729.30 6,482.41 
			 2005–06(3) 12,045,756.00 129,397.32 8,807.88 
		
	
	(2) DFID's first partnership option was made in May 2003, therefore no partnership contributions were made during 2002–03. There are only 30 members of the Partnership Pension Scheme. The figures in column four are payments to the Civil Superannuation Vote in respect of risk relating to death in service/ill health benefits for the Partnership Pension Scheme.
	(3) Projected figures.
	For 2005–06, employers' contributions are payable to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) at one of four rates in the ranges 16.2 to 24.6 per cent. of pensionable pay, based on salary bands. The scheme actuary reviews employer contributions every four years following a full scheme valuation; last carried out as at 31 March 2003. The contribution rates reflect the cost of benefits as they accrue (net of employee contributions), not the costs as they are actually incurred, and reflect past experience of the scheme.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development is not responsible for any non-departmental public bodies, Executive agencies or any other public body.

Arts Schemes

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what publicly-funded support is being provided to schemes to promote Islamic talent in the arts; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: Arts Council England does not make funding decisions based on an applicant's religion. It funds artistic practice according to strategic priorities and on the basis of artistic merit. However, it may fund artists for whom Islam happens to be a part of their artistic inspiration. The Arts Council has supported an extremely diverse range of young artists, some of which are Islamic, through an inclusive approach.
	One of the Arts Council's priorities is to encourage funding applications from people from a diverse range of backgrounds, and in many regions it is, where possible, facilitating community programmes and encouraging artists to apply for funds through the Grants for the Arts (GfA) programme.
	There are some excellent case studies such as the West Midlands artist called Mohammed Ali. Mohammed received a GfA grant of just under £10,000 to undertake an exhibition of art work in Dubai titled Salam in the City. This exhibition is to be held late February/early March 2006.
	Ulfah Arts has also received a GfA award of around £13,000 to support the development of their organisation, which encourages increased engagement in the arts for women across all faith groups but with a particular focus on Islam.
	Pillars of Light, a year long programme across the Yorkshire and Humber region, aims to explore interactions between Muslim cultures and other cultures, within the context of their heritage and contemporary reality. Events throughout 2006 will focus on the visual arts, literature, film, music and theatre. Pillars of Light is being funded through Yorkshire's 'Illuminate' Urban Cultural programme, which is in turn being funded through the Arts Council and the Millennium Commission. Alchemy Anew, an Islamic Arts charity funded directly by the Arts Council, is coordinating it. Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust are one of the key participating organisations in Pillars of Light and are currently hosting the "Palace and Mosque" exhibition on loan from the V&A museum.
	Another exciting project is the innovative and ambitious new cultural building being created by Rich Mix to serve London's many communities. The building work is currently underway in Tower Hamlets, which is one of the most deprived areas in the country and has 48 per cent. ethnic minority population, the majority of which is Bangladeshi and Muslim. Rich Mix, due to open in spring 2006, combines workshop and performance spaces, managed workspaces for creative industries, training and education spaces and houses a three screen cinema. Rich Mix has raised £23 million from funders, including the Arts Council and the London Development Agency.

Child Care

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of those working in child care were qualified at NVQ levels (a) 2, (b) 3, (c) 4 and (d) 5 in each year for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: Figures are available for 2001 and 2002/03 and are taken from the Childcare and Early Years Workforce surveys for those years. The information collected for the surveys did not distinguish between NVQ levels 4 and 5.
	
		
			Percentage 
			  NVQ level 
			  2 3 4/5 
		
		
			 2001 11.8 42.0 9.3 
			 2002/03 8.3 50 10.8 
		
	
	Note:
	These average percentages are based on percentage estimates of the distribution of qualifications across workers in the four main types of child care setting: full day care, playgroups, child minders and sessional care.

Enterprise and Entrepreneurism

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to expand the teaching of enterprise and entrepreneurism in schools in Staffordshire; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The Department has allocated £60 million a year for the three academic years from September 2005 to support a new focus on enterprise education in all secondary schools in England. Fair Oak High School and Walton High School in Staffordshire were among the 700 schools which participated in our Enterprise Education Pathfinder programme that looked at various ways of delivering enterprise education and helped to produce our national guidance on enterprise education. The Guidance is available at www.teachernet.gov.uk/enterpriseeducation to support other schools in developing and improving their own practice. The Department is deciding with key partners how to offer further support to schools in the coming year.

Lifelong Learning

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research the Government will (a) undertake and (b) commission to assess the selective effectiveness of measures to promote wider participation in lifelong learning in England.

Bill Rammell: The Department's research plans fully incorporate how effectively our policies widen participation in learning, especially in areas of 14 to 19 education, adult skills, and HE. Key policies aimed at increasing and widening participation in lifelong learning are subject to detailed evaluation to establish their effectiveness and to improve their delivery.
	For example, in the context of widening participation in HE, Aimhigher is subject to a comprehensive evaluation strategy, organised in partnership with HEFCE and the LSC. It includes surveys of young people, educational providers and Aimhigher partnerships, all conducted by independent research organisations. The evaluation seeks to identify what works, and to use this to inform further policy development and delivery.
	In the context of increasing participation in lifelong learning, the evaluation of the Employer Training Pilots uses a wide range of qualitative and quantitative techniques to assess their effectiveness including; surveys of participating employers and employees (early and follow-up), ETP providers, case studies of LLSCs and all key stakeholders, quantitative random surveys of employers, and surveys of eligible employees.
	Other examples include the evaluations of the Union Learning Fund, IAG, and the Adult Learning Grant. Full details of the Department's research programme is available at the "Research and Statistics Gateway" on the DfES website, including copies of completed and published research.
	The Department will continue to assess the effectiveness of its policies aimed at widening participation and to share best practice among our partners in delivery.

State-funded Education

Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Croydon, Central of 16 January 2006, Official Report, column 1030W, on state-funded education, if she will express the figures in cash terms at 2005 prices.

Jacqui Smith: The following table shows the UK education expenditure and gross domestic product (GDP) cash figures used as the basis for my answer to the hon. Member for Croydon, Central.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  1979–80 1987–88 1997–98 2004–05 
		
		
			 Education spend 10,500 20,400 37,400 63,900 
			 GDP 207,608 431,246 824,044 1,177,760 
			 Percentage 5.1 4.7 4.5 5.4 
		
	
	Note:
	1. Figures on UK education spend for the years shown were obtained from the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses.
	2. The GDP figures used are the latest available and were updated at the end of December 2005.
	3. The international definition of education expenditure used to produce the figures for the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses has changed overtime; therefore, the figure for 1979–80 is not directly comparable with the other years. The figures for 1987–88, 1997–98 and 2004–05 have been produced to the same definition and so are comparable.
	The figures for percentage of GDP spent on education remain the same whether cash or 2004–05 prices are used. This is because the same price deflator is used for education spend and GDP when calculating real terms figures.

Work-based Learning

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the annual level of spending on work-based learning for (a) 16 to 18-year-olds and (b) over 19-year-olds between 2004–05 and 2008–09;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the level of annual spending between 2004–05 and 2008–09 on (a) 16 to 18-year-olds and (b) over 19-year-olds on (i) advanced apprenticeships, (ii) apprenticeships, (iii) entry into employment and (iv) NVQ 1 to 4.

Phil Hope: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) through an annual Grant Letter that sets out the LSC's key priorities. The operational delivery of individual programmes, taking account of these priorities and the funding made available by the Department, is a matter for the LSC. The following table details the allocations for work-based learning programmes for the relevant financial years. In addition funding allocations are given for the adult skills programme Train to Gain.
	
		
			 £000 
			 Programme 2004–05(5) 2005–06 2006–07(6) 2007–08(7) 
		
		
			 Work-based Learning (16–18) 615,001 605,611 669,189 675,181 
			 Entry to Employment (16–18) 246,593 220,084 208,369 204,044 
			 Work-based Learning (19+) 243,162 269,125 202,767 229,000 
			 WBL Total 1,104,756 1,094,820 1,080,325 1,108,225 
			 Train to Gain programme (8)88,995 161,027 230,000 399,000 
			 Overall Total 1,193,751 1,255,847 1,310,325 1,507,225 
		
	
	(5) Figures for 2004–05 are taken from LSC Accounts.
	(6) Figures for 2006–07 are disaggregated from planning assumptions within the 2006–07 LSC Grant Letter.
	(7) Figures for 2007–08 are disaggregated from planning assumptions within the 2006–07 LSC Grant Letter.
	(8) Employer Training Programme (ETP) Pilots. These are the pilots for the roll out of NETP/Train to Gain in 2006–07.
	The WBL totals shown in the aforementioned table for 2005–06 to 2007–08 are consistent with the plans outlined in 'Priorities for Success' published by the LSC in October. Bill Rammell wrote to all MPs at the time to inform them about the 'Priorities for Success' document.
	For 2008–09 allocations are dependent on the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review.
	Data for allocations to programmes by qualification level are the responsibility of the LSC. In support of this PQ, LSC have been able to provide the following WBL programme/age breakdown for academic year 2004/05 only:
	
		
			 WBL programme Age group Level Spent (£ million) 
		
		
			 Advanced Apprenticeships 16–18 Level 3 226 
			 Advanced Apprenticeships 19+ Level 3 118 
			 Apprenticeships 16–18 Level 2 332 
			 Apprenticeships 19+ Level 2 111 
			 NVQ-only 16–18 Level 1–4 23 
			 NVQ-only 19+ Level 1–4 22 
			 Entry To Employment (E2E) All Ages Level 1 228 
			 Total WBL — — 1,060

QinetiQ

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to ensure that Qinetiq will maintain its current number of employees and presence in Scotland after privatisation.

John Reid: holding answer 23 January 2006
	This is an operational matter for the company; questions should be referred to the chief executive at the following address:
	Graham Love
	Chief Executive
	Qinetiq Ltd.
	Cody Technology Park
	Building Al
	Ively Road
	Farnborough
	Hampshire GUI4 OLX

Crossrail

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Department has spent on the Crossrail project in each year since 1997; and what percentage has been spent on (a) staff recruitment, (b) technical consultants and (c) other external services.

Derek Twigg: Between its establishment in May 2001 and the end of 2005, Cross London Rail Links Ltd (CLRLL) was provided with funding of £130,750,118. I understand from CLRLL that the amount spent on staff recruitment, technical consultants and other external services was as follows:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Financial year Total Staff recruitment Technical consultants Other external services 
		
		
			 2001–02 5,380,000 74,918 2,152,000 2,103,082 
			 2002–03 25,238,000 182,603 15,282,000 4,487,397 
			 2003–04 31 ,547,000 141,299 19,646,000 6,372,701 
			 2004–05 44,461,000 198,540 25,821,000 11,266,460 
			 Financial year to end December 2005 28,124,118 400,855 13,734,927 6,356,932 
		
	
	The remaining costs included staff salaries and day-to-day running costs.
	In addition, between September 2003 and the end of 2005, the internal Department for Transport unit that deals with Crossrail sponsorship, which includes the Crossrail hybrid Bill team, had costs of £6,102,814. The amount spent on technical consultants and other external services is detailed in the following below. Spending on staff recruitment is not recorded separately. All relevant staff were already employees of the Department for Transport.
	
		
			£ 
			 Financial year Total spend Technical consultants Other external services 
		
		
			 2003–04 1,445,019 1,144,920 Nil 
			 2004–05 2,657,209 1,937,093 20,937 
			 Financial year to end  December 2005 2,000,586 1,231,149 25,657 
		
	
	The remaining costs included staff salaries and day-to-day running costs.
	Prior to September 2003 any work undertaken in respect of Crossrail was carried out by staff within the Department on an ad hoc basis as part of their other duties. Other officials have been involved in Crossrail related matters from time to time, as have officials in Strategic Rail Authority and Transport for London.

Cycling Accidents

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving cyclists resulting in (a) death and (b) serious injury there were in each year since 1997 in Gravesham constituency.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of fatal and serious personal injury road traffic accidents that involve one or more cyclist in the Gravesham constituency since 1997 are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Fatal accidents Serious accidents 
		
		
			 1997 0 8 
			 1998 0 2 
			 1999 0 3 
			 2000 0 3 
			 2001 0 2 
			 2002 0 1 
			 2003 0 5 
			 2004 0 0 
		
	
	The accidents given in the table are those which occurred within the 2004 boundary of Gravesham constituency. The cyclists in these accidents did not necessarily sustain injuries themselves.
	We are committed to improving safety for cyclists. Across Great Britain the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured in 2004 was 38 per cent. below the 1994–98 baseline, while the number of child cyclists killed or seriously injured was 49 per cent. below the baseline. All local authorities should have a cycling strategy, which includes improving safety through measures such as education, publicity and engineering. We introduced a new national standard for cycle training in 2005. We also have a range of cycling publicity materials aimed at the most vulnerable cyclists, children and teenagers, with a new teen campaign planned for 2006. We are also educating drivers in the need to be aware of cyclists, with this message included in the theory, hazard perception and practical elements of the driving test, with advice to drivers in the Highway Code and elsewhere.

Greater Western Franchise

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what public expenditure was allocated to (a) tracks, (b) estates and (c) rolling stock on the Greater Western Franchise in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: The Department does not record expenditure under these specific headings. The subsidy/premium payments for the constituent parts of the Greater Western franchise paid/received over the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			£000 
			  First GW First GW Link Wessex 
		
		
			 2000–01 42,770. 10,984 — 
			 2001–02 27,511 (11)3,931 22,582 
			 2002–03 8,735 (11)13,232 50,885 
			 2003–04 16,089 (11)15,027 75,015 
			 2004–05 (11)17,635 (11)5,804 55,628 
		
	
	(11) Premium paid to Government.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the economy of strike action on the national rail network in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The data requested is not held by the Department and the information could be provide only at disproportionate cost.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the number of passenger journeys on the national rail network affected by strike action in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The data requested is not held by the Department and the information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Passenger Travel Alert Services

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to encourage public transport operators to use passenger travel alert services through mobile communications technology.

Stephen Ladyman: There are a number of public transport passenger travel alert services already available through mobile technology.
	The Department for Transport supports Transport Direct, Britain's free online journey planning service, which offers a real time journey planning service to mobile and Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) users. Users of Transport Direct's mobile and PDA service, which is subject to an ongoing development, can already:
	Find out the departure and arrival times for national rail services throughout Britain and for some bus or coach stops in areas where Short Messaging Service (SMS) codes are available for bus or coach stops (e.g. in Wales, the South West, Leicestershire and the South East, except London). The service can give the scheduled arrival and departure time and in some cases provide the expected arrival or departure times.
	View live travel news for car or public transport (e.g. check for delays and accidents) either for a region or for the whole of Britain.
	Find out whether there is a taxi rank or private hire car firm at the rail station they are travelling to, and/or get phone numbers for taxi or cab firms serving the station.
	Bookmark any useful pages they are viewing on their phone or PDA.
	The Department also supports the Traveline telephone service that is operated by transport operators and local authorities. Traveline has an SMS text service covering Scotland, Wales and parts of England. The service provides info on the next departure times of bus services from bus stops and bus stations within that region, by responding through a text message to a customer request for next bus information.
	In addition to scheduled bus times available through the Traveline SMS and phone service, some local authorities provide real time information for bus services through mobile devices. For example the "Star Text" scheme in Leicester and the "your next bus" service in West Yorkshire provide passengers with real time information about the actual running time of their buses through a text messaging service.
	National Rail Enquiries offers a text-back facility which enables mobile phone users to check whether trains are running to schedule. Users text the name of the station (or the designated three-letter station code if they know it) to 484950. By return they receive information on the status of trains that are due over the next hour, with a status report (i.e. "On Time", "+5m", etc.).

Road Accidents (Ice)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) deaths and (b) serious injuries in road accidents, where the primary cause was ice on the road, there were in each of the past 20 years.

Stephen Ladyman: Information on the primary cause of personal road injury accidents is not available. The number of fatalities and serious injuries in personal injury road accidents where there was "Frost or Ice" on the road surface, is given in the following table for 1985–2004.
	Number of fatal and serious casualties by road surface condition "Frost or Ice": 1985–2004.
	
		Severity of casualty
		
			  Fatal(13) Serious 
		
		
			 1985 100 1,894 
			 1986 118 2,039 
			 1987 65 1,159 
			 1988 63 1,071 
			 1989 66 871 
			 1990 58 747 
			 1991 84 1,447 
			 1992 77 1,040 
			 1993 58 827 
			 1994 53 872 
			 1995 60 859 
			 1996 59 919 
			 1997 36 515 
			 1998 33 558 
			 1999 60 753 
			 2000 33 487 
			 2001 66 905 
			 2002 29 301 
			 2003 32 619 
			 2004 40 505 
		
	
	(13) Deaths within 30 days of the accident. Excludes confirmed suicides, death from natural causes and injuries to pedestrians with no vehicle involvement (e.g. a fall on the pavement).

Road Traffic Accidents

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department collects information on the number of fatalities in road traffic accidents partially or wholly caused by (a) domestic animals, (b) farm animals and (c) pheasants reared for shooting.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department does not collect information on personal injury road accidents caused by animals. However we do collect information on animals identified as carriageway hazards in accidents, specifically categories of "dog on road" and "other animal on road".
	The following table shows the number of fatalities in personal injury road accidents where a dog or other animal has been identified as a carriageway hazard for 2004.
	
		
			  Fatalities 
			  Number 
		
		
			 Dog on road 1 
			 Other animal on road 52

Administrative Costs

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which functions of his core Department are carried out in (a) England and (b) London; and what administrative costs were associated with these functions for each area in the last year.

Alan Johnson: Functions carried out on official premises on behalf of the DTI in (a) England by the core Department include the following work undertaken by: Finance and Resource Management; "Finance processing services", Corporate Law and Governance Directorate; "Companies Investigation Branch", Legal D Enforcement Unit, Industry Economics and Statistics Directorate and the work of the Regional Policy, Partnership, Transport and Planning Directorate.
	Functions carried out on official premises on behalf of the DTI in (b) London by the core Department include the work undertaken by; Business and Innovation Groups, British National Space Centre, Business Relations and Support, Consumer and Competition Policy Directorate, Corporate Law and Governance, Energy; "Industries and Technologies, Markets, Strategy, Resources and Development Units", Employee Relations Directorate, Europe and World Trade Directorate, Finance and Resource Management, Human Resources and Change Management, Internal Audit, Industry Economics and Statistics Directorate, Innovation; "Economics Statistics and Evaluation, Technological Innovation", Information and Workplace Services Directorate, The Legal Group; "Business and Consumers, Employment Discrimination Equality Intellectual Property, Energy, Companies and Insolvency and Enforcement", The Ministerial and Parliamentary Support Team, Office for Civil Nuclear Security, Operations Directorate, Office of Science and Technology; "Science and Engineering Base and Transdepartmental Science", The Regions Directorate, Strategy Communications Unit, Strategic Policy Analysis, Women and Equality Group, Womens National Commission and Export Control and Non-Proliferation Directorate.
	Additionally functions are carried out by UK Trade and Investment, an organisation which brings together the work of the DTI and the FCO in support of British trade and investment overseas, and in encouraging Inward Investment.
	Further detail pertaining to more in depth specification of the actual type of work carried out by the Units indicated above and associated Information on the administration costs of work undertaken is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Career Development (Women)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to encourage companies to develop the careers of their female staff.

Meg Munn: holding answer 23 January 2006
	DTI has been actively promoting best practice for many years, through case studies, reports and industry events. For example, I will be speaking at "Women in IT Forum" meeting on 8 February, which will examine both the benefits to managers and to their businesses in having a better gender-balanced workforce.
	Additionally DTI has various publications such as "Advancing Women in the Workplace—Good Practice Guide" and "Building Better Boards"—designed to support managers in implementing effective strategies for reducing barriers to women's advancement and to combat stereotyping in the workplace.

Data Sharing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what consultation his Department has undertaken on the privacy of data sharing within the delivery of more secure public services.

Jim Murphy: In April 2002, the Performance and Innovation Unit (now the Strategy Unit) published a report "Privacy and Data sharing: the way forward for public services" and sought public consultation on some of its key recommendations. Further work on data sharing and the privacy aspect is included in the Government report "Transformational Government—Enabled by Technology", (CM6683) published in November 2005. This Strategy as a whole is currently out for consultation which is due to close 3 February 2006. There is also regular consultation with the information technology industry and others on standards within the e-Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF).

Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will reply to the letter of 28 October 2005 from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood, on behalf of Nazia Mahmood (post reference 728276, reference M1265571, acknowledgement reference B2588015).

Kim Howells: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate passed the hon. Member for Birmingham, Lady wood's letter to UKvisas on 18 January. UKvisas will reply as soon as possible.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what proportion of antisocial behaviour orders issued to (a) under 18s and (b) under 16s have been breached in each year since 1999;
	(2)  what proportion of antisocial behaviour orders have been breached in each year since 1999 .

Hazel Blears: Antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) breach data is currently available from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2003 for ASBOs issued since 1 June 2000. Age data are for those aged 10–17 and 18 and over. During this period 47 per cent. of ASBOs issued to persons aged 10–17 within the period were breached on one or more occasions. The corresponding percentage for those aged 18 and over is 38 per cent. The overall breach rate is 42 per cent.

Asylum/Immigration

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Scottish First Minister about the use of dawn raids in asylum cases.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 7 November 2005
	My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and I have had discussions in person and on the phone with the First Minister on this and other subjects. In addition Immigration Service officials have met with officials from the Scottish Executive and Scotland Office in order to discuss the removal of failed asylum seeking families from Scotland. 1

Asylum/Immigration

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers sought by his Department have been found through the use of Quick Check since its inception; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Quick Check records are available from one August 2004. Between this date, and 29 October 2005, a total of 60,660 Quick Check searches were submitted to the Immigration Asylum Fingerprint System (IAFS) database, and 25,283 possible matches identified.
	Fingerprints captured by Quick Checks can be matched against those on an Application Registration Card (ARC), or transmitted for searching on the IAFS database. The result, which is automatically forwarded to the sender, is either "Possible Identification", this may require fingerprint expert verification, or "No match". Asylum status is not available on results forwarded from the IAFS to Quick Checks.

Charities Commission

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Charities Commission is required to investigate a charity more than once in relation to the same allegations without the provision of additional documentary evidence.

Paul Goggins: This is a matter for the Charity Commission as the Government Department responsible for the regulation of charities in England and Wales. The Executive director of Charity and Legal Services at the Charity Commission will write to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

Charities Commission

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the activities of charities are inspected on a regular basis by the Charities Commission; and how often such inspections took place in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: This is a matter for the Charity Commission as the Government Department responsible for the regulation of charities in England and Wales. The chief executive of the Charity Commission will write to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

Criminal Record Checks

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many criminal record checks were carried out in each year since 2002; and how many of these were (a) standard disclosure and (b) enhanced disclosure.

Andy Burnham: The total number of standard and enhanced CRB checks issued in each year since 2002 is broken down as follows:
	
		
			Number 
			  Standard Enhanced Total 
		
		
			 11 March 2002 to 31 December 2002 118,599 808,564 927,163 
			 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003 271,952 1,886,197 2,158,149 
			 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2004 286,984 2,198,362 2,485,346 
			 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2005 298,315 2,391,694 2,690,009 
		
	
	The information requested by the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton regarding CRB checks issued specifically for positions within schools is not available. However, details of the total number of disclosures issued for the education sector are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Number disclosures 
		
		
			 2002–03 439,000 
			 2003–04 553,000 
			 2004–05 596,000 
			 2005–31 December 516,000 
		
	
	On average, 93 percent. of disclosures issued to the education sector are at the enhanced level.

Drugs Offences

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) fined the maximum amount and (b) imprisoned for the maximum period for possessing (i) cannabis, (ii) cocaine and (iii) heroin in each of the past four years; and what percentage of all people convicted of these offences these figures represent.

Paul Goggins: Information on the number of people fined and imprisoned for the maximum period of possessing cannabis, cocaine and heroin is shown in the tables as follows.
	
		Number of people given a maximum custodial sentence for possession offences
		
			  2001 percentage of all sentences 2002 percentage of all sentences 2003 percentage of all sentences 2004 percentage of all sentences 
		
		
			 Cannabis 25 4 38 6 49 6 51 6 
			 Cocaine 58 3 44 2 19 1 79 5 
			 Heroin 72 5 71 5 48 3 49 5 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Cannabis possession maximum period is five years.
	2. Cocaine and heroin possession maximum period is seven years.
	
		Number of people given a maximum fine for possession offences
		
			  2001 Percentage of all fines 2002 Percentage of all fines 2003 Percentage of all fines 2004 Percentage of all fines 
		
		
			 Cannabis 18 1 19 1 15 1 28 2 
			 Cocaine 4 0 3 0 8 0 4 0 
			 Heroin 17 0 14 0 29 0 17 0 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The maximum fine given in the magistrate court is £1,000.
	2. "0" indicates less than one per cent.

Gun/Drug Crime

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has commissioned into the link between gun crime and drug crime.

Hazel Blears: The Home Office has commissioned a qualitative study among young men convicted of firearm offences with the aim of exploring criminal pathways into this type of crime as well as the associated motivations and barriers to carrying and using illegal firearms.
	The research explores the associations between gun related crimes and the procurement and use of drugs. The Home Office also sponsored the New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) survey, which involved interviewing and drug testing those arrested by the police, included questions on carrying guns.
	A paper based on the data has been published by T. H. Bennett and K. Holloway, "Possession and use of illegal guns among criminals in England and Wales" (Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol 43, No 3, pp 237–252).

Neighbours from Hell Website

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many e-mail messages (a) from people living in Gravesend and (b) in total have been received by his Department since the Prime Minister urged readers of The Sun to shop yobs to the Home Office via the neighboursfromhell@thesun.co.uk e-mail address.

Hazel Blears: Encouraging members of the public to report antisocial behaviour is an important part of the Government's overall strategy to tackle and not tolerate the problem.
	At the time of answering, The Sun newspaper had forwarded to the Home Office 91 responses to their campaign: none of these have come from people identifying themselves as having come from Gravesend.

Prisons

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners who have been sentenced to life in prison are on an early release programme.

Fiona Mactaggart: On 30 November 2005, there were 1,504 life licensees prisoners in the community under active supervision by probation officers. All life licensees are liable to recall to prison for the rest of their lives if their potential risk of harm to the public warrants such action.
	There are no early release programmes as such for lifers. Lifers progress through sentence under the framework of a life sentence plan (LSP). This provides the prisoner with a structured means to help him or her reduce their risk.
	The bulk of this work is conducted in the secure or "closed" prison estate. Most lifers can normally be expected to progress to open conditions in preparation for possible release, but only where the Secretary of State considers such a move appropriate on risk grounds. Consideration of release cannot take place until the prisoner has served the minimum period of imprisonment deemed necessary for the purposes of retribution and deterrence (the "tariff"). The responsibility for the release of lifers now lies with the independent Parole Board. If the lifer is not released at the tariff expiry point, the Parole Board will consider the case again at no more than two yearly intervals thereafter. The main criterion governing the Parole Board's consideration is the level of risk of serious harm that the lifer may pose to others.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to reduce the supply of (a) mobile phones, (b) drugs and (c) alcohol into the Prison Estate; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: A comprehensive range of measures is in place to reduce the amount of drugs and associated paraphernalia, including mobile phones, getting into prisons.
	It includes:
	passive and active drug dogs;
	closed circuit television systems and fixed and low-level furniture;
	closed visits and visit bans on visitors suspected of smuggling drugs;
	sharing of intelligence with police about drug routes into prisons;
	the use of the Supply Reduction Good Practice Guide;
	mandatory drug testing;
	searching strategies; and
	deployment of mobile phone detectors and analysis of recovered handsets.
	The good general prison security measures already in place serve to reduce the supply of alcohol. In April 2005 introduced a provision in the prison rules to test prisoners for alcohol.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to develop an over-arching strategy for prison education; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills set out our strategy to improve the skills and job prospects for offenders in the Green Paper "Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment" published on 15 December and copied to all Members of Parliament. The document was published jointly on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills, the Home Office and the Department for Work and Pensions. We have now embarked on an extensive period of consultation, running until the end of May, during which we welcome a full range of views.

Reoffending

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people previously in custody have reoffended in (a) Wimbledon and (b) the London borough of Merton in each year since 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The most recent reoffending data for adults were published in "Re-offending of adults: results from the 2002 cohort" which is available through the Home Office's website (http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm).
	The report shows the proportion of offenders who reoffended within two years and were subsequently convicted, and separately identifies offenders given custodial and community sentences. The conviction for the offence is counted even if it occurred beyond the two year follow-up period. Results are given for 2000 and 2002.
	Reconviction data for 1997 through 2000 were published in "Prison statistics England and Wales 2002" and data for 2001 were published in "Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2003". Both of these publications are available on the Home Office website. These series count only those convictions that were secured within the two year follow-up period.
	Reconviction rates should be used with caution as a number of different factors can influence them. Reconviction rates can be adjusted to take account of the changing characteristics of offenders and these adjusted rates are published on the Home Office's website. The most recent data show that there has been a reduction in reoffending for all offenders of 0.2 per cent. against the 2000 baseline. The Home Office public service agreement target is to reduce re-offending by 5 per cent. by 2006.

Departmental Expenditure

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the expenditure on (a) buildings and (b) insurance of buildings and staff was of his Department in (i) Wales and (ii) each English region in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06 in each case.

Peter Hain: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) The Wales Office expenditure on the buildings for the last three years was:
	
		
			£ 
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 London:
			 Rent 0 10,383 15,761 
			 Rates 46,759 48,222 39,643 
			 Maintenance 199,036 67,785 97,388 
			 
			 Wales:
			 Rent 0 120,334 146,544 
			 Rates 0 28,452 30,270 
		
	
	All maintenance cost for Wales are included with the rent charges.
	Planned expenditure for financial year 2005–06 are:
	
		
			  Amount (£) 
		
		
			 London:  
			 Rent 33,879 
			 Rates 48,108 
			 Maintenance 68,419 
			   
			 Wales:  
			 Rent 146,273 
			 Rates 6,133 
		
	
	(b) In line with the Central Government, the Wales office does not insure its buildings. Central Government has chosen not to take out commercial insurance under conventional procurement techniques, as the premiums payable have not been seen to represent good value for money compared to self-insurance. Full details can be obtained from the Treasury website: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

Employment Statistics

John Cummings: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) private sector (i) manufacturing and (ii) service sector and (b) public sector jobs there were in Easington constituency in each year since 2000.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 January 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about private and public sector employment in Easington constituency. (45018)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics for the United Kingdom of public sector employment from a quarterly survey of public sector organisations. However, estimates at local area level are not available.
	Information at local area level is available from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) of individual people in households. However, in this source, the categorisation of employment in the public or private sector depends upon the responses from the individuals interviewed. As reported by QMS in October 2005 in the publication "Public Sector Employment Trends", some individuals tend to misreport private sector employment as being in the public sector hence leading to overestimates of the share of public sector employment.
	With this reservation about the data quality, the attached table shows the number of persons in private sector employment, by the specified splits, and for the public sector, for people resident in the Easington constituency as shown by the annual local area LFS for the 12 month periods ending February 2001 to February 2004.
	These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.
	
		Persons in employment resident in the Easington constituency by private-public sector split(27)
		
			 Thousands 
			  Private Sector 
			 12 months ending Manufacturing Services Other industries(28) Public Sector Total 
		
		
			 February 2001 10 15 2 6 33 
			 February 2002 7 14 2 9 32 
			 February 2003 8 14 2 8 33 
			 February 2004 8 13 2 6 29 
		
	
	(27) Public/private sector split based on responses from individuals responding to the annual local area labour force survey—generally overestimate public sector employment.
	(28) Other industries are agriculture, fishing, energy and water and construction.
	Note:
	Estimates are subject to sampling variability. Changes from year to year should be treated with particular caution.
	Source:
	Annual local area labour force survey.

Child Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the number of children living in relative poverty in the UK who are in households with (a) one or more adults in full-time work, (b) one adult only, not in work, (c) one adult only, in part-time work, (d) one adult only, (e) one adult on incapacity benefit, (f) one adult on income support and (g) one adult on jobseeker's allowance.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not available. The seventh annual 'Opportunity for all' report (Cm 6673) sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and reports progress against a range of indicators.
	Detailed information about the number and proportion of children living in low income households is published in "Households Below Average Income 1994–95 to 2003–04", available in the Library. The report includes comparisons of incomes against low income thresholds, such as the commonly used relative low income threshold threshold of 60 per cent. of contemporary median income.

Child Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children were living in households with incomes of less than 27 per cent. of median income in each year since 1990–91; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not available.
	Detailed information about the number and proportion of children living in low income households is published in "Households Below Average Income 1994–95 to 2003–04", available in the Library. HBAI defines low income households' using thresholds of 50, 60 and 70 per cent. of median income.
	The seventh annual 'Opportunity for all' report (Cm 6673) sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and reports progress against a range of income thresholds.

Child Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the factors affecting child poverty; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: We recognise that poverty and social exclusion are not just about low income, or the goods and services that people can afford. We understand that people's opportunities and quality of life are also shaped by their education, their skills, by access to quality health services, by decent housing and by the security and quality of the areas in which they live.
	The seventh annual 'Opportunity for all' report (Cm 6673), published in October 2005, sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion. It contains an annex of indicators tracking the Government's performance on tackling poverty and social exclusion across a range of domains—amounting to around 60 indicators in total, 25 of which are child specific. We will continue to take this approach in the future.

Child Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the possible relationship between child poverty and families with higher numbers of children; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The Government announced in the Child Poverty Review in 2004 that it had a long-term aspiration to improve the financial support available to large families and will consider the best mechanism for achieving this.
	Specific information regarding low income for Great Britain is available in "Households Below Average Income (HBAI) 1994/95—2003/04", available in the Library. The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income. The data shows that children in large families—those with three or more children—were more likely to live in low income households, although the risk of relative low income for this group has decreased markedly since 1998–99.

Child Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the incidence of child poverty was in families with (a) children under the age of 10 years and (b) children over the age of 10 years in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not available.
	The seventh annual 'Opportunity for all' report (Cm 6673) sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and reports progress against a range of indicators.
	Detailed information about the number and proportion of children living in low income households is published in "Households Below Average Income 1994/95–2003/04", available in the Library. The report includes comparisons of incomes against low income thresholds, such as the commonly used threshold of 60 per cent. of contemporary median income.

Child Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the age distribution of children living in relative low income households in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is in the tables.
	Detailed information about the number and proportion of children living in low income households is published in "Households Below Average Income 1994–95 to 2003–04", available in the Library. The report includes comparisons of incomes against low income thresholds, such as the commonly used threshold of 60 per cent. of contemporary median income.
	There is a stronger relationship between age of youngest child and low income than age of children alone. Results show that for families where the youngest child is older, the children are less likely to experience low income—particularly 'after housing costs'. This is linked with higher risks by size of family, since an older youngest child will correlate with a smaller family size.
	
		Proportion of children living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of median, 2003–04
		
			 Percentage 
			 Age of child Before housing costs After housing costs 
		
		
			 Under 5 18 28 
			 5 to 10 21 29 
			 11 to 15 23 28 
			 16 to 18 19 23 
			 All children 21 28 
		
	
	
		Composition of children in only those households below 60 per cent. of median by age of child, 2003–04
		
			 Percentage 
			 Age of child Before housing costs After housing costs 
		
		
			 Under 5 23 26 
			 5 to 10 34 35 
			 11 to 15 34 31 
			 16 to 18 9 8 
			 All children 100 100 
		
	
	
		Proportion of children living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of median by age of youngest child, 2003–04
		
			 Percentage 
			 Age of youngest child Before housing costs After housing costs 
		
		
			 Under 5 20 30 
			 5 to 10 22 29 
			 11 to 15 21 24 
			 16 to 18 12 16 
			 All children 21 28 
		
	
	
		Composition of children in only those households below 60 per cent. of median by age of youngest child, 2003–04
		
			 Percentage 
			 Age of youngest child Before housing costs After housing costs 
		
		
			 Under 5 40 44 
			 5 to 10 37 36 
			 11 to 15 20 18 
			 16 to 18 3 3 
			 All children 100 100

Post Office

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people use the Post Office card account for receipt of (a) state pension, (b) pension credit and (c) other benefits (i) in total and (ii) broken down by region.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the latest available information on the number of benefit and pension accounts which are paid by direct payment into a Post Office card account.
	
		
			Number 
			 Region State retirement pension Pension credit Other benefits 
		
		
			 North East 109,200 66,500 127,100 
			 North West 252,000 133,000 274,200 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 194,200 97,600 166,800 
			 East Midlands 149,500 65,500 106,700 
			 West Midlands 194,600 104,600 165,000 
			 East of England 153,900 66,300 89,400 
			 London 123,500 85,700 194,600 
			 South East 182,400 73,300 112,400 
			 South West 181,000 68,400 97,100 
			 Wales 152,300 67,800 146,500 
			 Scotland 193,900 108,000 205,800 
			 Total 1,886,500 936,700 1,685,600 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
	2. Figures refer to payment accounts.
	3. People in receipt of more than one benefit/pension will be counted for each separate benefit/pension in payment.
	4. People who have their benefit/pension combined and paid at the same time will only be counted through the paying benefit.

Design for Manufacture

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many of the homes being constructed as part of the Design for Manufacture competition (a) are being constructed for £60,000 and (b) are intended to be classed as affordable housing, broken down by location.

Yvette Cooper: The Design for Manufacture competition is being run by English Partnerships on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. English Partnerships is currently evaluating bids from developers for Stage 3 of the Design for Manufacture competition.
	A minimum of 30 per cent. of the housing units within the competition will be built to a target cost of £60,000 and the remainder will be larger and smaller dwellings that should be built at an equivalent cost-efficiency.
	At this stage, and subject to final planning applications, the number of homes on each site is as follows:
	Oxley Park, Milton Keynes, Phase 2 site. Total of 145 homes, of which 43 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	Oxford Road, Former Territorial Army Centre, Aylesbury Vale. Total of 100 homes, of which 30 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	Upton, Northampton, Site D2. Total of 165 homes, or which 36 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	Allerton Bywater Millennium Community, Leeds, Yorkshire. Total of 150 homes, of which 30 are anticipated to be affordable.
	School Road, Hastings. Total of 12 homes, with affordable housing level to be determined.
	Horns Cross, Stone, Dartford. Total of 37 homes, of which 11 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	Former Rowan High School site, Merton, London. Total of 180 homes, of which 54 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	Former Renny Lodge Hospital, London Road, Newport Pagnell, Bucks. Total of 60 homes, of which 20 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	Former Park Prewett Hospital, Kingsclere Rd, Basingstoke. Total of 137 homes, of which 47 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	Former Linton Hospital site, Maidstone. Total of 123 homes, of which 43 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and English Partnerships are working to prepare a publication drawing out the lessons that have been learned from the Design for Manufacture competition. It will include information about costs, technologies and construction strategies. We aim to be able to publish this document by spring 2006.

Homelessness

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many homeless families in (a) Tamworth and (b) Staffordshire (i) were living in temporary accommodation and (ii) sleeping rough in each of the past five years;
	(2)  how many beds were available for homeless families in (a) Tamworth and (b) Staffordshire in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: Information about the number of households with children in temporary accommodation, as arranged by local authorities under homelessness legislation, has only been collected since March 2002 and this information together with that for the latest three years is presented in the following table for Tamworth and Staffordshire. Also presented in the table is number of people sleeping rough on any single night of the year, in each of the past five years.
	Each local authority in England has a duty to provide accommodation to households who have been accepted as homeless and are owed a main housing duty under homelessness legislation. If the authority cannot provide a settled solution straight away the household will be placed in temporary accommodation. For this reason, authorities will not have a set number of beds for homeless households.
	
		All households, and households containing children or an expectant mother, in temporary accommodation(35) arranged by local authorities under homelessness provisions of Housing Acts, and numbers of persons sleeping rough(36)
		
			  Households in TA as on 31 March 
			  Total Of which: with children Rough sleepers 
		
		
			 2001
			 Tamworth 105 (37)— 0 
			 All LAs in Staffordshire 270 (37)— 7 
			 
			 2002
			 Tamworth 94 90 0 
			 All LAs in Staffordshire 230 150 7 
			 
			 2003
			 Tamworth 83 75 0 
			 All LAs in Staffordshire 250 200 0 
			 
			 2004
			 Tamworth (38)— (38)— 0 
			 All LAs in Staffordshire 210 120 3 
			 
			 2005
			 Tamworth (38)— (38)— 0 
			 All LAs in Staffordshire 300 210 3 
		
	
	(35) Households in accommodation either pending a decision on their homelessness application or awaiting allocation of a settled home following acceptance. Excludes those households designated as "homeless at home" that have remained in their existing accommodation and have the same rights to suitable alternative housing as those in accommodation arranged by the authority.
	(36) Number of persons sleeping rough, based on local authority mid-year counts or estimates.
	(37) Not collected.
	(38) Data not reported.
	Note:
	Figures for Staffordshire, which include estimates for partial and non-response, have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	ODPM P1E homelessness returns (quarterly) and HSSA returns (annual)

House Repossessions

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what research his Department has commissioned into strategies to reduce the number of house repossessions in the UK.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) jointly commissioned report "Homeowner Risks and Safety-nets: Mortgage Payment Protection and Beyond, University of York 2004" was a major piece of research that has informed the development of the Government's strategy on sustainable home ownership. The ODPM has also been involved in research commissioned by others through its membership of the "SUSHO Partnership Steering Group". The Council of Mortgage Lenders, the Association of British Insurers and Department of Work and Pensions are also members of this group, whose aim is to produce an enhanced safety-net for home buyers that results in fewer households getting into arrears and losing their homes.
	The numbers of repossessions has fallen dramatically since the early 1990s when mortgage possessions peaked at 38,930 in the first half of 1991 and the numbers are expected to remain small: the total number of repossessions in 2004 was 6,230. The Government is working closely with the industry to ensure that home ownership is sustainable, and to improve the links between private provision and state intervention. A key part of this initiative is the wider availability and take up of mortgage payment protection insurance and similar products providing cover for borrowers during periods of difficulty.

Standards Board/Adjudication Panel

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total expenditure of the (a) Standards Board for England and (b) Adjudication Panel was in each year since it was established; and what the budget is for (i) 2005–06 and (ii) 2006–07.

Phil Woolas: Information on the amount of grant provided each year to the Standards Board for England and expenditure on the Adjudication Panel, the costs of which are included in the board's budget, is tabled as follows:
	
		
			   £000 
			  Grant to standards board including costs of adjudication panel  Expenditure on adjudication panel 
		
		
			 2001–02 2,423 — 
			 2002–03 6,159 — 
			 2003–04 7,932 436 
			 2004–05 8,940 386 
			 2005–06 9,181 476 
			 2006–07(39) 9,429 478 
		
	
	(39) Preliminary estimate.

Dentistry

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental (a) nurses, (b) hygienists and (c) therapists there were in (i) Southend, (ii) Essex, (iii) Hertfordshire, (iv) Greater London and (v) England in the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: Information on dental nurses and hygienists is not held centrally as most dental care professionals are employed by independent general dental practitioners. It may be assumed that virtually all practising dentists will employ a dental nurse. Information on the numbers of dentists working in the relevant areas is shown in the following table as a rough indicator of the number of dental nurses.
	
		General dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS). Numbers of GDS and PDS dentists in England and the specified areas as at 30 September each year.
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 England 16,670 17,199 17,755 18,167 18,722 18,946 19,260 19,722 20,890 
			 of which:  
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA 707 733 758 111 794 805 834 858 924 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA 638 672 714 739 775 770 77i 808 873 
			 Essex SHA 530 543 562 595 590 566 574 595 662 
			 North West London SHA 1,004 1,080 1,089 1,058 1,059 1,012 1,038 1,078 1,145 
			 North Central London SHA 632 639 667 699 709 710 713 713 766 
			 North East London SHA 537 567 574 597 610 590 614 649 720 
			 South East London SHA 633 637 638 674 670 651 673 694 741 
			 South West London SHA 629 643 665 681 702 683 681 689 756 
			 Southend on Sea PCT 57 62 64 65 65 62 61 60 66 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The dentists include principals, assistants and trainees. Prison contracts are excluded from the data.
	2. The postcode of the dental practice was used to allocate dentists to specific geographic areas. primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA) areas have been defined using the Office of National Statistics all fields postcode directory.
	3. Data includes all notifications, received by the Dental Practice Board, up to 2 November 2005 for England and 19 October 2005 for PCT and SHA data. Figures for the numbers of dentists at specified dates may vary depending upon the notification period, e.g. data with a later notification period will include more recent notifications of dentists joining or leaving the GDS or PDS.
	Source:
	Dental Practice Board
	Information relating to dental therapists directly employed in the hospital and community health is shown in the following table.
	
		National health service hospital and community health services: Qualified dental therapists in England by Government office region (GOR) and by strategic health authority (SHA) area in England as at 30 September each specified year.
		
			 GOR code Strategic health authority SHA code 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			  England — 137 130 126 119 122 125 148 203 164 175 
			  of which:
			 G East of England total — 6 7 4 6 4 8 15 15 15 18 
			  Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Q02 3 4 3 5 3 7 14 14 15 18 
			  Essex Q01 2 2 — — — — — — — — 
			  Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Q03 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 — — 
			 H London total  17 19 18 12 15 21 17 17 16 17 
			  North Central London Q05 2 3 3 4 5 4 3 3 3 3 
			  North East London Q06 4 4 2 — — — 2 5 5 6 
			  North West London Q04 4 3 3 2 5 7 6 7 7 5 
			  South East London Q07 2 4 5 2 2 3 3 — — — 
			  South West London Q08 5 5 5 4 3 7 3 2 2 3 
		
	
	Note:
	1995–2001 data is estimated based on 2002 organisational structure.
	Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census
	Source:
	Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census

Departmental Expenditure

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by her Department on refreshments in each year since 1997.

Jane Kennedy: The Department has spent the following amounts on refreshments and food since 2002, previous years are not available due to a change in contractor:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2002 693,928 
			 2003 705,889 
			 2004 701.236 
			 2005 794,021 
		
	
	This figure includes working breakfasts or lunches, meetings and official entertainment.
	All expenditure of official entertainment is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in "Government Accounting".

Drug Treatment Centres

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the addresses of drug treatment centres which specialise in (a) opiate addiction and (b) cocaine addiction.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 23 January 2006
	The information requested is not available in the format requested. Comprehensive details of all drug treatment services is available on the National Treatment Agency's website at:
	www.nta.nhs.uk and on DrugScope's website at:
	www.drugscope.org.uk/drugbaseii/home.asp.
	There are approximately 683 drug treatment services1 currently available in England, the majority of which specialise in treatment of opiate addiction; there are few services which specialise in the treatment of cocaine addiction. All drug misusers have access to a wide variety of services including structured counselling, harm reduction, aftercare and complementary therapies.
	Source:
	DrugScope

Genetically Modified Foods

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to commission research into the public health effects of genetically modified foods.

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has a research programme on the safety of novel and genetically modified (GM) foods and its research requirements are published at regular intervals via its website. Genetically modified foods are approved in the European Union on a case-by-case basis after an extensive safety assessment. The FSA currently has no plans to commission research into public health effects of GM foods.

Influenza Vaccine

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date she ordered an additional 200,000 doses of winter influenza vaccine to act as a contingency reserve.

Caroline Flint: We ordered an additional 200,000 doses of flu vaccine for delivery in January on 3 November 2005.

Maternity Units

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many maternity units achieved (a) level one, (b) level two and (c) level three of the clinical negligence scheme for trusts in each year since 2000.

Jane Kennedy: The first year of formal clinical negligence scheme for trusts (CNST) maternity standards assessments was 2003–04 when all national health service trusts and two primary care trusts (PCTs) with significant maternity services were assessed by the NHS Litigation Authority, unless they had demonstrated compliance during the pilot exercise held in 2002–03.
	The table shows the number of trusts at each level of the CNST maternity standards at the end of the last two financial years and end of the third quarter 2005–06. These are the latest available figures.
	
		
			  31 March 2004 31 March 2005 31 December 2005 
		
		
			 Pending 0 0 1 
			 Level 0 20 0 2 
			 Level 1 108 102 94 
			 Level 2 24 46 54 
			 Level 3 1 5 7 
			 Total 153 153 (49)158 
		
	
	(49) This figure includes PCTs with midwifery-led units, which were not previously assessed.

Parliamentary Questions

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines are given to her Parliamentary Response Unit on dealing with questions of a scientific nature.

Jane Kennedy: The Department's answers to all parliamentary questions are drafted in accordance with the Cabinet Office document "Guidance to officials on drafting answers to parliamentary questions", copies of which are available in the Library.

Private Finance Initiative

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to review the use of the private finance initiative for major hospital rebuilding projects.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 19 January 2006
	The private finance initiative (PFI) has been a major contributor to the largest hospital building programme in the national health service's history. Since May 1997, PFI has led to the construction of 48 new hospital schemes. Going into the future, we remain committed to the continued use of PFI as a mechanism for delivering the required capital investment into the NHS. Individual projects need a sound business case to be affordable and are scrutinised carefully.

Social Services (Tamworth)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clients aged 16 to 19 years were seen by social services in Tamworth in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of all referrals of children and young people to social services departments is published in the Department for Education and Skill's (DfES) "Referrals, Assessments and Children and Young People on Child Protection Registers" statistical volume, which is available on the DfES website at: www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000553/index.shtml
	For clients aged 18 to 64, 2,940 new clients were assessed and 2,820 existing clients were reviewed in 2003–04 by Staffordshire council with social service responsibilities. Data for earlier years is not available on a comparable basis.

Testicular Cancer

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent campaigns her Department has undertaken to raise awareness of testicular cancer.

Rosie Winterton: We encourage men to be aware of the early signs and symptoms of testicular cancer. To increase awareness of testicular cancer we have collaborated with Cancer Research UK in the production of the leaflet, Testicular Cancer: Spot The Symptoms Early. The leaflet is available in all primary care settings and in 200506 600,000 copies for the leaflet were produced.
	Also in 200304 we provided 30,000 to the men's health forum to help fund their publication, the men and cancer manual. This manual gives men information, in plain English, on all cancers including testicular cancer.

A Shared Future

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he is planning to prioritise the aims and objectives of A Shared Future in the spending plans of each Northern Ireland department.

Angela Smith: The measures that Departments will take to prioritise the aims and objectives of A Shared Future will be reflected in the triennial action plan, which ill be announced by March 2006.
	Departmental spending plans will further reflect the policy objectives of A Shared Future.

A Shared Future

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what resources will be provided for implementing the Shared Future strategy.

Angela Smith: Expenditure planned in 200607 on community relations/good relations activities across departments, which is about 15 million, will be specifically used to support the objectives of A Shared Future.

Administration Costs

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the administrative costs were of each agency for which he has responsibility in the last year for which figures are available; what the total of such costs was in that year; and whether the costs are regarded for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses as (a) identifiable and (b) non-identifiable.

Shaun Woodward: The administrative costs in the 200405 financial year for each Agency in the Northern Ireland Office are as follows:
	
		Total administrative costs 200405
		
			 Agency 000 
		
		
			 Northern Ireland Prisons Service 13,196 
			 Compensation Agency for Northern Ireland 4,332 
			 Forensic Science Agency for Northern Ireland 7,229 
			 Youth Justice Agency for Northern Ireland 2,327 
			 Total 27,084 
		
	
	All the costs of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) relate to Northern Ireland as per the public expenditure statistical analyses and are regarded as identifiable.

Administration Costs

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the administrative costs were of each non-departmental public body for which he has responsibility in the last year for which figures are available; what the total of such costs was in that year; and whether the costs are regarded for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses as (a) identifiable and (b) non-identifiable.

Shaun Woodward: The administration budgets regime which Treasury oversee is for Whitehall Departments only. This type of regime does not apply to non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). However, information on NDPBs can be found on the public bodies database which is held on the Cabinet Office's Civil Service Agencies and Public Bodies website http://www.knowledgenetwork.gov.uk/ndpb/ndpb.nsf. The database gives full information, summary statistics and analysis only for bodies sponsored by UK Government departments (this includes the Northern Ireland Office).
	All the costs of the Northern Ireland Office relate to Northern Ireland as per the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses.

Elderly People (Care Packages)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many elderly people living in the Causeway Health Trust area in 2005 who have been assessed as requiring a care package while continuing to live in their own homes were waiting longer than one month from the assessment for that care to be delivered.

Shaun Woodward: At 30 September 2005, there were 258 people in the Causeway Health and Social Services Trust area who were in the Elderly Care Programme of Care and who were waiting in the community for five weeks or more for a care package to be delivered. This figure includes those people who were still waiting for part of a domiciliary care package to be delivered, unless the element awaited was not substantial.

IRA Disarmament

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of IRA disarmament in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: The Chairman of the Independent International Commission for Decommissioning (IICD), General John de Chastelain, announced on 25 September 2005, that it had witnessed full and final decommissioning by the PIRA of arms and weaponry.
	The seventh Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) report published on 19 October 2005, recognised that statement as
	very significant
	and that
	initial signs following the PIRA statement are encouraging.
	Subsequent IMC reports will provide a clear indication of whether or not the PIRA have met the commitments they have made to end all activity.